UK-Pakistan Academic Partnership to Strengthen Research and Development in Emerging Technologies.

 First Centre of Emerging Technologies in Private Sector to be Established with UK-Pakistan Partnership.

UK-Pakistan Academic Partnership to Strengthen Research and Development in Emerging Technologies - Mike Nithavrianakis, Britain’s Deputy High Commissioner and Trade Director for Pakistan 

Internet age and its usage, new technologies that are currently being developed or will be developed within the next five to ten years are referred to as emerging technologies. Extreme Commerce Magna Carta College (ECMCC) and British Computing Society/AccrediNation are jointly establishing Pakistan’s first Centre for Emerging Technologies in Pakistan. The agreement to cement this partnership was signed by both organizations today in Karachi.

The partnership was signed by the Founder and Managing Partner AccrediNation (in country partner organization for British Computing Society), Asad Aamir Ansari and Head of Institution (ECMCC), Abdul Hafeez Malik. His Excellency Mike Nithavrianakis, Britain’s Deputy High Commissioner and Trade Director for Pakistan was the Guest of Honour and witnessed the partnership signing along with leading corporates from the tech industry.
 
British Deputy High Commissioner Karachi and Trade Director for Pakistan Mike Nithavrianakis attended and congratulated the institutions involved in agreeing on this partnership, which he hopes will flourish and lead to excellence in the area of emerging technologies”.
 
The world has seen a technological revolution since the advent of the internet, Sunny Ali, Founder Extreme Commerce in his message said, Pakistan has lacked a Centre for Emerging Technologies. Although there have been efforts in the public sector. We are proud to take this lead in Pakistan to launch a private sector driven initiative. He further said, this partnership will set new benchmarks in training a new breed of human resource in the country that can provide leadership for the industry and business community alike for the emerging technologies for global challenges.
 
Asad Aamir Ansari, Founder and Managing Partner for AccrediNation said, emerging technologies, especially artificial intelligence can be used in many different industries, including IT, medicine, finance, and more. These technologies are making our daily usage devices smarter, providing deeper, more valuable insight into data and making cloud-based tools more efficient. In terms of impact, these technologies have the power to change the way we deploy, engage, and make use of technology at all levels.
 
CEO MagnaCarta College Ejaz Chaudhry said ‘The IT certifications by BCS UK will increase the employability and freelance opportunities for our youth in the global arena. In today's ever-changing and competitive market, IT professionals need knowledge, expertise and practical skills that are internationally recognised and industry relevant.’
 
For a technology to be classified as emerging, it is characterized by rapid growth, impact, radical novelty, coherence, and, sometimes, uncertainty and ambiguity. These include but are not limited to Artificial intelligence (AI), Gene therapy, 3D printing, Nanotechnology, Cancer vaccines, In vitro meat, Medical field advancements, Robotics, Stem-cell therapy, Distributed ledger technology and other Technologies related to the Internet of Things (IoT). Each of these emerging technologies has the potential to create a significant competitive advantage for businesses in the near future.
 
The event was attended by business leaders, technology enthusiasts, leading entrepreneurs, civil society leaders including Raza Ahmed Sukhera, Joint Director Policy & Sector Growth at Ministry of IT and Telecom, Dr. Shahid Mahmud, Group CEO and Chairman Interactive Group of Companies.
 
AccrediNation chartered by the British Computing Society (BCS) has over a decade of experience in IT Services, Training, Transformation, Consulting and Outsourcing. The BCS is the only professional body in the United Kingdom with the ability to grant chartered status to IT professionals under its Royal Charter, granted to them by the Privy Council. Thus, having the ability to grant Chartered (Professional) status to both its Fellows and Professional members. Known as Chartered IT Professional. AccrediNation has built strong relationships with International Chambers of Commerce, British High Commissions/Embassies, Federal & Provincial Governments and Corporate Sectors across the world.

Extreme Commerce Magna Carta College (ECMCC) is Pakistan’s first entrepreneurial higher education institute that came into being as a joint venture between Extreme Commerce and Magna Carta College, Oxford’s Independent Business School. The purpose of ECMCC as a futuristic scholastic and incubation hub, is to build and disseminate a full spectrum of affordable pre- university to post-graduate competency and research-based learning, complemented by world-class, international qualifications.
 
For more information please visit: www.ecmcc.org

5 Million Micro-Entrepreneurs to Benefit from Ecommerce and Digital Skills.

 

Extreme Commerce and Dukan.pk collaborate to empower people to achieve self-sufficiency through e-commerce and digital skills.

5 Million Micro-Entrepreneurs to Benefit from Ecommerce and Digital Skills.

Extreme Commerce and Dukan.pk collaborate to empower people to achieve self-sufficiency through e-commerce and digital skills.

It is heartening to see the emergence of local platforms like Dukan.pk to help sellers reach their customers. We are proud to partner with the leader in this space. ”

— Sunny Ali, Founder Extreme Commerce

82.20% enterprises in Pakistan are facing a cash flow shortage in the COVID-19 period. This puts a serious challenge for starting a business in Pakistan. Although Pakistan ranks at 72 among 190 countries on starting a business on the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Report 2020, the new dynamics demand a new approach for the micro, small and medium enterprises.

This gap has been filled by the two leading enterprises in Pakistan by joining hands, with a common goal of empowering the people of Pakistan to achieve self-sufficiency through e-commerce and digital skills, Dukan.pk has partnered with Extreme Commerce to help local businesses sell online. Extreme Commerce is the largest online selling community of Pakistan with approximately 700,000 members. It has trained and helped thousands of people to sell online in the ecommerce platform and generate over $100 million in sales through Amazon, eBay, and other platforms.

The partnership will look into the possibilities to capacitate businesses for online payments as well. 72.29% enterprises in Pakistan reported cash as the major payment method. 59.74% Micro Small and Medium Enterprises in Pakistan reported bank transfer method, 24.24% used personal cheque to make payments, 22.08% online payment method, 13.85% debit or credit cards, 6.49% money orders, and 4.33% used mobile payment methods. The government plans to digitize cash on delivery (CoD) payments above PKR 10000 by the year 2022, and all CoD payments will be replaced with online payments by the year 2029.

Extreme Commerce’s Founder and CEO, Sunny Ali said, “It is heartening to see the emergence of local platforms like Dukan.pk to help sellers reach their customers. We are proud to partner with the leader in this space.” He further said, “this partnership will allow anyone with a smartphone to gain e-commerce selling skills and equip them with easy-to-use technology, enabling web store creation, online payments, and delivery management.”

There are currently over 5 Million micro and small enterprises (MSMEs) in Pakistan that are eager to join the e-commerce revolution but lack the technical know-how.

Monis Rahman, founder and CEO of Dukan.pk, while reiterating his commitment to uplift small local businesses said, “Dukan’s mission is to let anyone with a smartphone sell online in under one minute. Our partnership with Extreme Commerce will help accelerate this mission by complementing our platform with high quality e-commerce training for local sellers.”

Pakistan has an approx. 3.2 million SMEs. SMEs constitute nearly 90% of all the enterprises in Pakistan; employ 80% of the non-agricultural labor force; and their share in the annual GDP is 40%, approximately. However, unlike large enterprises in the formal sector, a small and medium enterprise is constrained by financial and other resources. This inherent characteristic of an SME makes it imperative that there should be a mechanism through which it may get support in different functions of business including technical upgradation, marketing, financial and human resource training & development.

To build a knowledge platform that can enable new thinking and innovation for the SME E Commerce approach, Extreme Commerce has already signed an agreement with the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority (SMEDA) as well. Extreme Commerce is also working with academic and research institutions across Pakistan and beyond.

Dukan.pk is a new revolutionary and free of cost E-Commerce App. Through this each store will get its own personalized URL. There are 9 different payment methods with hassle-free stock purchase, sales report, inventory management and order history. Led by a team of industry veterans, Dukan has been able to create over 65,000 online stores, growing 350% monthly by average. It provides local sellers with a free, easy, and effective platform to set up their web stores and sell online.

Extreme Commerce is Pakistan’s first EdTech start up with a sole focus on skills development and capacity building within the ecommerce and digital arena. Founded in 2017, it is the largest community of its kind in Pakistan, with well over 735,000 members to date and with over 100+ courses and income streams to choose from. We estimate that by 2025, our community will be 1 million strong, generating well over $1 billion in inward remittance for Pakistan.